


Picture This

by M155_C0nfu510n



Series: Scrapbook [1]
Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crush at First Sight, Fluff to the max and then some, M/M, Rin who's a photographer, Sad backstory for Rin, Supportive Renzou, They're all dorks that just want to live
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:05:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/M155_C0nfu510n/pseuds/M155_C0nfu510n
Summary: Rin was content to live out his high school days in the yearbook room until graduation arrived, but with the deadline for photos approaching, he's tasked with taking shots of the final football game of the season. The only saving grace is the presence of Renzo at his side. But when the star player gets overrun by a group of overzealous defenders, Rin begins to realize he's been missing out on a crucial part of his high school experience and decides to take a stand against the reputation that has followed him since middle school. It helps that he has a new group of friends to back him up along the way.UPDATE IN THE NOTES ON THIS WORK BEING A SERIES!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I shit you not, this was made three years ago....I just suck at finishing things and I finally wanted to get this away from myself. I really hope you lovely readers enjoy this because I put in a stupid amount of effort to get it finished after so long and ya know what? It's cute. I can admit it's cute even though I hate it because it didn't want to finish itself without me looking at it. *if anyone knows how to write stories like I want them then please do it...i've got so many wips like please...* That aside, this is finally done and I hope those of you that enjoyed my first story also like this even though the fluff probably doesn't match up (*cough* definitely doesn't match up *cough*). So enough of me rambling, I hope you enjoy!
> 
> EDIT: Yo! So does everybody remember how I said I doubt I'll come back and add more? Well I added more and I'll probably post it tomorrow after I edit it one last time, so be looking out!

* * *

 

“Damn these sucks…”

Rin cringed as he looked through the older photos on his camera. He had decided- after months of failed reminders and pushing it back- to clean out his camera of all the useless pics from his middle school days, and to say they were bad was an understatement. He had erased the final copy of some failed drawing from one of his faceless friends when there was a knock on the door. He looked up to see Shiemi poke her head through the door, the blonde smiling as she caught his eye.

“Oh, Rin! Have you seen Ms.Shura? I’ve got the flowers she wanted as examples for the yearbook cover.” The girl slipped through the small opening in the door, gently clenching a handful of colorful flowers that she most likely picked from her personal garden.

Rin set his camera on the teacher’s desk as he thought on the elusive woman, shrugging as he leaned back in the swivel chair. He couldn’t really complain about her being missing, though- he was using her classroom for his work after all.

“You know she disappears at random. You checked with the tech kids?” Shiemi blinked at the question before shaking her head quickly.

“Thanks Rin!” The girl quickly turned and sprinted from the room, Rin shaking his head as the door slid closed behind her.

Returning to his earlier project, the raven growled as he was met with more terrible shots of sunsets and trees, earlier attempts at photography that failed epically. And as he came to a picture that could barely be qualified as such, he had to rethink that earlier thought…

“Hey, Rin~ I got a job for my favorite photographer!” The raven sighed at the sight of his yearbook teacher, the woman smirking as she sauntered through the door with Shiemi’s flowers tucked into her ponytail.

“Oh lord…”

“Don’t be like that, Mr.Grumpy, it’s not bad. Honestly.” She smiled as she sat on her desk, undoing the flowers from her hair and arranging them in patterns in her hand. “I just need someone to get some action shots of the game tonight and everybody else is booked with other areas of the yearbook. I’d do it myself, but I gotta get to work on the designs and junk.”

Rin groaned pitifully and lay his head on the desk next to his camera, hands coming up to ruffle his already messy locks. “Whhyyyy? You know I don’t do the whole high school social gathering thing…”

Rin felt fingers gently card through his hair as the woman before him sighed. “Come on, Rin, I need you! And you know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t have a choice… Besides, this might help you come out of your shell a bit, yeah?”

The raven turned his head until he could view his teacher through his bangs, blowing them out of his eyes before rubbing at them pitifully.

“I guess… What do you need?”

Ms.Shura’s grin made Rin question how well his night was about to go.

 

* * *

 

The night was alive with the cheers of the two rival schools, a whistle cutting through the air signalling the start of the game. As the ball was hiked and the players leapt into action, Rin couldn’t help but think this was the worst night of his life.

“Sorry dude.” And, for the fourth time that night, he was bumped into the the railing beside the field, air knocked from his lungs as his chest came in contact with the cool metal.

He was pissed.

“Damn you, Shura…” Rin sighed as he adjusted his jacket, pushing his hair away from his eyes and turning his attention to his borrowed camera.

The raven smiled at the piece of equipment, the only perk to doing this stupid job tonight. The tripod was also a godsend considering the camera weighed quite a bit on it’s own, lens an added pound or two. Adjusting the settings and lighting, Rin turned the camera towards the teams’ new position at the 30 yard line.

Though Rin wasn’t a big fan of the sport, he did understand the basics of football, quick to aim his camera at the linebacker as he caught the ball and made a mad dash towards the endzone. If he remembered correctly, the guy’s name was Ryuji Suguro, though he went by ‘Bon’ as printed on his jersey.

Rin blinked at the sudden wave of cheering that went through the crowd, surprised to see he had somehow snapped an excellent picture of Bon running into the endzone with the ball held high, smiling as he clapped with them.

Maybe the game wasn’t all that bad, or the excitement was more contagious than he first thought.

“Hey, Rin!” The raven looked up from the camera to see a head of pink break through the crowds, Renzo grinning as he pushed his way beside him. “I didn’t know you did the games.”

Rin shrugged as he aimed the camera towards where the teams had moved, the opposing team having gained a few yards already. “Yeah. Didn’t really want to, but everybody else is booked and I finished my part early so Shura threw this at me a few hours ago.”

Rin pouted as he snapped a shot of their defenders practically running over the opposing players, wincing as the kid did a backflip into the grass. “That’s gotta sting…”

“Well I, for one, am happy that you’ve decided to step away from the yearbook room for a while. I barely see you outside of class lately, and I told ya breaks are good for us juniors.” Renzo leaned his arms against the railing as he spoke, eyes never leaving the game.

Rin blinked as he thought back on the last time he had hung out with his pink haired friend, with any of his friends really. The raven frowned when he came up short, only remembering sleepless nights filled with hours of clicking and shifting pictures around on a dim computer screen in near darkness. Maybe he did need this semi-break.

“Dude, you’re right! I need a life again…” Rin deflated into the railing as he thought of his nonexistent life since he signed up for that god forsaken yearbook class a year ago. A hand on his shoulder made him look up into kind brown eyes, Renzo’s grin infectious.

“Then come hang out with me, Bon, and Konekomaru this weekend. You know: food, video games at Bon’s, movies; all the components for a perfect sleepover. They won’t mind, I promise.” Rin found himself nodding, thanking his friend profusely as he turned his attention back to the game.

He barely had time to angle the camera before snapping a picture of the kicker sending the ball down the field into the waiting arms of Bon. Rin jumped as Renzo cheered wildly beside him, blinking at the teen as he wasn’t used to him losing his head over anything but food and girls. The raven smiled at the sight, a smidge guilty as he realized just how distant he had become from his friends.

This weekend would fix that though.

“Damn, he’s on a roll today!” Renzo grinned as he turned towards his friend, Rin smiling as he nodded. The raven blinked in confusion as Renzo’s brows scrunched up, his smile slipping away. “Wait, you don’t know Bon do you?”

“Uh, not personally, no.” Rin felt heat rise to his cheeks as he raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head, averting his gaze to the field. “You know I don’t really know a lot of people…”

Flicking his eyes back towards his friend, Rin wasn’t surprised to see Renzo giving him a soft smile, returning his own hesitantly. “Don’t worry bout it, kay? Bon’s cool people and doesn’t judge like everybody else.”

Rin felt muscles he didn’t know had tightened loosen, nodding his thanks to Renzo as he returned his attention to his camera.

He had already gotten plenty of good shots, but Shura had been adamant about him staying through the whole game, Rin sighing as the buzzer went off for half-time. A hand on his shoulder made him jump, turning towards Renzo who was giving him a reassuring smile.

“You’ve made it this far, might as well finish, ne?” Rin sighed as he nodded, turning away from the cheerleaders that stormed the field.

“I need a drink…”

“Get me one too!”

 

* * *

 

Bon was on a roll.

Every play was executed flawlessly, his defenders practically taking out the whole of the other team in the span of three quarters. Pure perfection.

Now all they had to do was make it through one more, his eyes glinting with barely restrained excitement as the ball went flying through the air. His feet shuffled in the grass, the cheers of the crowd dying down as the ball fell into his waiting arms. And suddenly he was racing across the field, football tucked into the crook of his right elbow and left arm held protectively across his chest. The defenders were quick to intercept the coming players, Bon squeezing through the gaps and barely managing to sidestep a defender.

And then he made a mistake, a crucial mistake. A mistake that took him out for the rest of the quarter.

He looked at the crowd. Or more specifically, at the large flash of lights near a secluded corner of the bleachers. He wasn’t surprised to see Renzo cheering loudly against the railing, though the dark haired photographer with a stupidly large grin and glowing blue eyes caught him completely off guard.

Much like those three defenders that were currently being pulled off his squished body. And he couldn’t really blame them because even as he was rolled onto a stretcher and carried off the field he couldn’t get the guy out of his head. Bon snorted before wincing at the pain that caused in his abdomen.

He was screwed and he didn’t even know the guy…

 

* * *

 

“Fuck! Rin, what if he’s hurt real bad? What if he broke something? Oh my God! What am I gonna tell his pops!?” Rin only continued to pull his spazzing friend along the hallways behind the field, shaking his head as Renzo broke down behind him.

The poor kid was really close with ‘Bon’, apparently. Rin actually felt bad for the guy though, that hit was pretty nasty. Good thing he had a camera to forever immortalize the painful moment. The raven shook the thoughts off as Renzo let out a pained wail, sighing as the pink haired teen clung to his back.

“Rin! Bon’s hurt!” Rin only gave Renzo a pat on the head as they finally came upon the infirmary door. The raven gave a sigh of relief as they opened the door to see the nurse absent from the room.

“Shima? What are you doin’ here?”

Rin refrained from shivering at the voice, blue eyes trained on the crumpled figure on the bed. Blonde and brunette locks were stuck to a sweat slicked forehead, brown eyes flicking from him to the pink haired teen that dove towards the empty chair as soon as they entered the room, uniform covered in mud and grass. Rin noticed the tape clinging to the teen’s ears and nose, well aware of the dangers of wearing jewelry while playing sports.

“Bon, don’t you ever do anything like that again! Freezing up? That’s not like you, man!” Rin rolled his eyes as Renzo continued with his little spiel, mouth quirking as he watched the teen on the bed shake his head good-naturedly.

“Calm down, dude, it’s fine. And…” Bon’s voice trailed off as his eyes drifted to Rin, the raven still standing awkwardly by the door. “Just...distracted by something…”

“I don’t care if Beyonce was in the stands, don’t you ever do that again!” Renzo apparently had drained all his self control, throwing himself at the figure on the bed and enveloping him in a hug.

The pained grunt from the figure beneath him caused Renzo to ease his grip, the pinket pulling away from his friend with an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Bon. Just worried boutcha.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t put pressure on my chest much. I swear those dumbasses broke a rib.”

“Um, actually, you wouldn’t really be able to breathe that well if they did.” Rin quickly froze when those brown eyes connected with his own, lowering his head and fingering the camera in his hands. “Just, um, ya know. Maybe a bruised sternum? Collarbone….”

“Oh right we did just learn about that stuff in Human Anatomy! Dang, Rin, I thought you just slept through all those lectures.” Rin shrugged and continued to fiddle with his camera, scrolling through the many shots he’d gotten that night and hoping it would be enough for Shura.

The raven jumped as he was suddenly grabbed by the elbow and dragged towards the broken figure on the bed by an overexcited Renzo. “So, I think some introductions are in order! Bon, Rin; Rin, Bon! And because I’m the amazingly awesome friend that I am, I have graciously invited Rin here to join us this weekend.”

Rin felt heat rise up his neck at Renzo’s words, suddenly questioning the pinket’s views of his ‘accepting’ friend. Oh god, he didn’t even know what Bon thought of _him_. More than half the school despised him for his reputation alone! Why did he agree to this?

“Cool. Actually I think you’re in a couple of my classes. Pre-Cal and History, right?” Rin glanced up through his freed bangs, nervous eyes connecting with unreadable brown.

He nodded silently.

He managed to keep eye contact as the brunet smiled, and _god_ did it make him _glow_ , “I hope you’re doin’ better than me then, cause I suck balls.”

“Aw, Bon! Keep that in the bedroom man.” Rin’s blush darkened as the two friends continued to throw jeers at each other, occasionally trading playful punches and slaps. It finally stopped when Bon trapped Renzo in a headlock, the pink haired teen squealing as a fist began grinding into the top of his skull.

“Uncle! Uncle! I give! Rin, I need backup!”

Rin continued to stand frozen by the squirming teens on the bed, wondering whether he should jump into the fray or hang back until he was dragged in.

“Injured players only! Loose ends, out!” It seems he didn’t have to make a choice after all, the nurse suddenly barging in and shooing both of them out the door.

“Kay! Jeez, ease on the shoving. Bon, I’ll text ya man!” Rin just quietly shuffled out the door, barely catching the hasty goodbye thrown by the bedridden jock before the door was slammed in Renzo’s grinning face. “Well _someone’s_ testy~ Let’s say we go catch the end of the game?”

Rin could do nothing but nod, almost questioning why Renzo was still bubbling with excitement. He forgot just how invested in football the pink haired teen was until he practically dragged him towards the bleachers again, his infectious smile giving rise to one of Rin’s own.

 

* * *

 

‘ _So...Rin_ ,’ Bon groaned as he sent the text, rolling onto his back and throwing an arm over his eyes as images of the black haired teen danced across his vision. Damn him and his ability to finally make himself known, regardless of Bon’s own subconscious having some vague memories of the raven in quite a few of his classes throughout high school.

Bon jumped as his phone pinged in his ear, the brunet quickly pulling it towards his face and reading the message from Renzo, ‘ _Yeah! he’s great really but like shy around new people~ give him some time~ :)_ ’

Bon groaned as he realized Renzo misunderstood his message, but was thankful all the same. He didn’t know what he would do if his friend decided to play matchmaker. Renzo always did go out of his way to do things that had nothing to do with him.

‘ _He seems alright...kinda weird?_ ’ Bon flopped uselessly around in his bed (ignoring the dull ache in his chest) as he thought about the unnaturally shy teen he had the privilege of seeing for a total of 2 minutes and 14 seconds.

Bon blinked as he tallied up just how creepy his thoughts had gotten towards the raven in the last couple hours. So far he was up to a grand total of ‘3’. He jumped when his phone pinged again, rolling onto his side so he could see Renzo’s message.

‘ _he’s the bestest weirdo youll ever find! sweetest kid too~ also pretty ‘out there’ if ya know what I mean~_ ’

No, Bon didn’t know. And he was sure to tell Shima that, along with a (possibly) over eager demand for more information about Rin’s ‘out there’-ness. So he was curious about a kid he’d barely paid any attention to throughout all of high school, nothing wrong with that.

Absolutely nothing…

A ping from his side had Bon returning his attention to his phone, the brunet yawning as he read the newest message.

‘ _i don’t really think its fair to talk about that without Rin… maybe we can talk about it at the sleepover?_ ’ Bon yawned again at the mention of sleep, but nodded his head resolutely, tapping out a quick reply before plugging up his phone and drifting to sleep.

And if his dreams were plagued with images of a raven haired angel, then he didn’t voice it.

 

* * *

 

“Ready for tonight?” Rin jumped at the voice so close to his ear, whirling around to see a grinning Renzo rocking on his heels.

He thought he would be able to enjoy a quiet lunch in the yearbook room, but was sorely mistaken. Renzo easily pulled up a chair and glanced over his shoulder at the pictures pulled up on his laptop.

“Yeah, I guess. I haven’t been to a sleepover in a few years so I don’t exactly remember what happens…” Rin managed a nervous laugh at Shima’s wide eyes and gaping mouth, pushing the food on his plate around with little interest. So he didn’t exactly have that many friends, not his fault most of them considered him an outcast.

“Dude, I promise that I will make this the _best_ sleepover you have _ever_ been to.” Now that Rin thought about it, he couldn’t remember ever going to a sleepover.

Damn, that was depressing.

Pushing the thoughts away, Rin gave Renzo a grateful smile, “Thanks, Ren.” The pink haired teen smiled while clapping a hand on Rin’s shoulder, squeezing gently.

“No prob, man. I’m just bummed that I haven’t gotten you to one of our sleepovers before.” Renzo deflated slightly before continuing in a brighter tone, “That aside, wanna show me these awesome pics that’ll be in the yearbook?”

Rin laughed but nodded all the same, scooting over so Renzo could squeeze his chair closer to the screen. The two wasted the rest of the lunch period joking about the pictures on Rin’s computer, the raven’s nerves calmed for the upcoming night.

 

* * *

 

“Bye, nii-san! Have fun!” Rin sent Yukio a bright grin before sprinting through the door, waving at the waiting Renzo before slipping into the passenger seat of his car.

“Hello, Mr.Antisocial! Ready to face your fears?” Rin actually chuckled at the question though it caused an uncomfortable lump to grow in his throat.

“As ready as I’ll ever be...You’re sure they won’t mind?” Rin still wasn’t so keen on the idea of spending his entire weekend with people he barely knew, sans Renzo. Sure he saw Konekomaru and Bon in the hallways quite a bit, and Konekomaru was one of the designers for the yearbook pages, but that didn’t mean he _knew_ them.

“They’re real, Rin. I’ve had a ton of friends in my life, but these guys….they’re the real deal.” Rin glanced at Renzo through his bangs, surprised to see one of those rare soft smiles touching the pinket’s lips. He forgot how much younger they made his face look, how carefree.

“They’re good for you.” Rin didn’t realize he’d spoken until Renzo hummed in question, taking a chance to glance at him from the corner of his eye. “You seem, I dunno, happier? More free. It’s...nice.”

Rin was confused when Renzo started chuckling, the teen’s hands tightening on the steering wheel as they turned onto a residential street. “I don’t know why people think you’re such a badass.”

Rin sputtered in his seat, preparing to give the pink head a piece of his mind before he continued, “You’re literally the nicest kid in that school. Hell, even Konekomaru’s not as nice as you….Why the hell can’t everyone else see that?”

Rin didn’t know how to respond to that, choosing to watch the scenery fly by as they continued past the generic homes of the neighborhood and towards an area that seemed mostly deserted (if the growing forest and lack of homes was anything to go by).

Rin didn’t comment on the change as they continued up the road, finally turning by a lone mailbox surrounded by a thicket of trees onto a gravel driveway. Rin’s eyes were wide as they took in the few breaks in the trees, the large clearings and slivers of sunlight he saw in those short glimpses. It was a beautiful sight, one he would be glad to immortalize in a photo at some point.

“Almost there!” Renzo’s voice broke Rin from his musings, the raven suddenly aware of the way the path had changed into a more solid form, the trees ahead breaking apart to give way to a lone house.

It was two stories and modestly built, even had a small porch with a wooden rocking chair. Rin couldn’t help but smile at the house, reminded of his late guardian for a brief moment. The illusion was quickly broken as Renzo pulled in behind a motorcycle and turned off the engine, the pink haired teen turning to Rin with a reassuring smile.

“No backing out now, kay? I promise this’ll be fun.” Rin took a deep breath before nodding, eyes alight with that stubborn determination Yukio said he was known for.

“Thanks again, for getting me out.” Renzo only grinned at him before stepping out the car and retrieving his things from the backseat, Rin following suit before the pair approached the door.

Rin used the short walk from the car to the front door to peruse his surroundings from a slower vantage point, smiling at the echoing call of multiple birds that rang from the encompassing trees. He would love to live in a place like this one day- quiet, peaceful, away from the judgmental eyes of the city.

“Ah, Renzo! So good to see you again. And who’s this?” Rin snapped back to reality at the new voice, blinking owlishly at the middle aged man smiling at him from the doorway. He managed a shaky smile and slight wave before Renzo came to the rescue.

“This here’s Rin! He’s another friend from school.”

Rin found his tongue soon after his impromptu introduction, thrusting out his unoccupied hand with a slightly stronger smile, “Rin Okumura, sir. Pleased to meet you.” Rin nearly jumped at the man’s raucous laughter, but calmed soon after when a larger hand gripped his own and gave a firm shake.

“A polite one, I see. Welcome to my home, Bon and Konekomaru are in his room.”

“Thanks, pops!”

Rin barely caught the man’s amused wave before he was dragged through Bon’s home, catching a few glimpses of the rooms that led to the stairs, the pictures that lined the walls of the staircase, and the three doors along the hall upstairs.

Rin could do nothing as Renzo barged into the only door on the right, throwing his bag at the two figures slouched on the bed with a shout, “Hello, dear friends! The party has arrived!”

“Renzo, calm the fuck down!” Rin inched in behind his more exuberant friend, freezing at the two pairs of eyes that immediately locked on his form.

“Uh, hi?” Rin didn’t know what to expect, but Bon’s intense gaze was not one of them.

Konekomaru’s reaction was better though, “Hi, Rin! Did you get your sections of the yearbook covered?”

Rin managed to nod enthusiastically at the question, a smile pulling at his lips at the thought of finally being done with taking so many different pictures. And Shura was one for perfection, so she obviously didn’t accept just _any_ photo in her yearbooks. Which is why Rin was so proud of the fact that she had taken so many of his first shots.

“It took a while, and I had to do four extra sections, but I got them done a couple days ago!” Rin was thankful for Konekomaru’s conversation change, happy that he would have some form of common ground in this unknown territory.

Until Renzo jumped in, that is. “Enough with this school talk, we’re supposed to be getting drunk on ice-cream and video games and all that manly dumb stuff guys do.”

Rin couldn’t help but chuckle at Renzo’s explanation of a guy’s sleepover, not willing to admit that he was excited at the prospect of gorging himself on ice-cream and mind rotting games. Or maybe he was just excited to finally do something besides homework and sulk.

“Well you guys got here just in time. The pizza’s supposed to get here-” Bon was cut off by a high-pitched chime ringing through the house, the brunet smirking as he stood from the bed, “Speak of the devil. Let’s eat!”

Rin was quickly swept into the excited chatter of the three surrounding teens, practically carried down the stairs and into a brightly lit kitchen where three boxes of pizza and a couple two liters were set at the table.

“I’ve got my share so you boys enjoy!” Rin turned towards the entrance to- what he presumed was- the living room, the soft sounds of jazz music drifting through the doorway before it was drowned out by the three boys at his side.

“Dibs on the first slice!”

“Screw that! You got it last time!”

“Respect my dibs!”

Rin eased away from the arguing figures and slipped each box open, noting which pizzas he would like best and discretely stacking them atop each other before backing out the kitchen. He managed to make it to the staircase before anyone noticed he was missing, the raven mentally cursing as three heads popped around the corner and caught him at the landing of the stairs with his prizes.

“When did he get away…?”

“What pizzas did he take?”

“You sneaky bastard, you~”

Rin chuckled nervously as he took a cautious step up the stairs, freezing up as three pairs of eyes narrowed in challenge. “I get the last pizza.”

“Like hell you do!”

“Language!”

Rin raced up the stairs as the three disappeared back into the kitchen, the raven shaking his head as he tried to figure out why they weren’t just _sharing_. But, who knows, maybe these guys were greedy and needed whole pizzas to fill them up.

‘ _I’m pretty sure Bon does_ …’ Rin blinked at the thought, humming to himself as he walked into the brunet’s bedroom.

He finally took the time to observe his new surroundings, taking in the dark blue walls and the dark wood floors, the four poster bed situated in the far right corner with a window next to the head of the bed and a desk beneath that. There was a closet to the left of the window and a dresser next to that. He was surprised to see a relatively large tv stationed on the wall across from the bed, a few game stations and speakers beneath it.

It was nice, cozy. Rin smiled as he moved towards the desk, thankful there was nothing on the desk as he set the boxes down and opened the top one. The raven gave a dazed smile as he breathed in the heart-stopping goodness of pepperoni, bacon, and jalapenos.

Blessed be the pizza gods for this masterpiece before him.

Rin barely had a chance to take that first heavenly bite before the door burst open again, a panting Konekomaru making a mad dive for the bed, the pilfered pizza held protectively above his body. “They’re animals!”

“Konekomaru!” Rin chuckled at the picture Renzo and Bon made at that moment, the two red faced and panting by the door, each holding a two liter. They quickly set their sights on Rin when they saw the opened pizza box and half eaten slice currently between his teeth. “Rin!”

“‘ou guyth a’ noithy.” Rin leaned back in his chair as he enjoyed his dinner, completely ignorant to the shocked looks of the two still panting by the doorway and the amused look from the one digging into a pepperoni and sausage pizza from the bed.

“What Rin said~” That seemed to break the two from their stupor, both glaring at the eating teens with faux contempt.

“We hope you choke!”

Rin couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sleepover that explains it all! Along with some developing tension between our favorite photographer and linebacker.

“Truth or dare!” Rin didn’t know what to think of this type of sleepover, only thinking that things like this happened at a girl’s sleepover if anything. Apparently these guys didn’t care…

Renzo smirked as he leaned closer to Konekomaru, the four circled around an empty Dr.Pepper bottle. The top was pointed at Konekomaru, the bottom at Renzo.

“T-Truth!” Rin had to give props to the guy, he could fake confidence like the best of them. Mostly.

Renzo’s smirk turned predatory as he leaned closer, eyes going half-mast as he gazed through the reflective glare of Konekomaru’s glasses. “Did you cheat on that math test the other day?”

Rin nearly slapped a palm into his forehead at the question, but couldn’t help the gnaw of curiosity as Konekomaru took longer to answer. Blue eyes were alight with a strange mirth as Konekomaru shook in his seat, lips quivering as he nodded his head minutely. Renzo’s excited shouts broke the tension, the teen clapping his hands as he rocked on his pillow.

“Knew it!”

“Please, Renzo! I feel bad enough as is…” Rin sat back as Renzo waved off the pleas, a soft look entering his eyes as he ran a finger over his heart in the shape of an ‘X’.

“Cross my heart and hope to die~” 

Konekomaru rolled his eyes before spinning the bottle, each teen watching it in rapt attention as it began to slow down. It landed on Bon.

“Truth or dare?” Rin still couldn’t find it within himself to look at the teen fully, opting to glance at him through his bangs and from the side if possible. Something about him caused a weird feeling in his gut. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either.

“Dare.” Bon’s tone was challenging and caused strange tingles to race down Rin’s spine, the raven refraining from shivering as Konekomaru thought of a dare.

“Hm, I dare you to…” Konekomaru paused as he glanced as Renzo, Rin not understanding the silent conversation the two had until two pairs of eyes connected with his own. A rock settled in the bottom of his gut as twin gleams entered their eyes, both turning towards the brunet with matching smirks. “I dare you to pose for Rin’s portfolio.”

“What?” 

“What!”

The two teens paused to look at each other with completely different expressions, Bon’s one of confusion and Rin’s one of horror. He had only told a few people about his growing portfolio and even fewer knew what specific photos he still needed to get. He had a sinking suspicion he knew what kind of photo they wanted Bon to pose for.

“Yup, just a pose!” Rin turned betrayed eyes on Konekomaru, the teen giving Bon a reassuring smile as he adjusted his glasses.

“And this will help him too since it’s one of the last he needs before sending it to a college!” Rin could just see Bon giving in, mentally asking the teen to hold out for just a while longer.

“It...can’t be that bad, right?”

Goddammit….

“Now that  _ that’s _ settled, Bon’s turn!”

“Wait! Aren’t we gonna take the picture?” Bon finally turned to address Rin directly, the teen not able to hold back his blush as he cleared his throat.

“See, it’s a, uh,  _ intimate _ piece. I….it’s a….” Oh, fuck it, “It’s a nude shot.”

He waited for the brunet to blow up, throw the situation back in his face and laugh, but felt himself relax as Bon nodded resolutely, brown eyes determined. “Done. Just give me a day.”

Rin didn’t know what to say, having given up on ever finding a nude model before his senior year, his mouth working uselessly as his mind raced with possibilities. “Um, whenever’s good for you, actually. I’ve always got a camera on me so…”

“Oh, then we can do it this weekend?” Rin felt his brain shrivel up and die at the question, barely registering his own mute nod as Bon smiled across from him. “Alrighty, then.”

The game continued as though nothing had happened right after, Rin’s mind a chaotic swirl of thoughts for the upcoming weekend. He was unaware of the thoughts that mirrored his own.

 

* * *

 

“You know….I never wanted pink hair.”

Everyone had finally settled down after a pretty intense game of Truth or Dare, the lights having went out an hour ago as the teens continued to talk on Bon’s bed, each sprawled out on what little space was available.

“I just wanted to be different, ya know? That and pink is the manliest color ever.”

“You’re stupid sometimes, Renzo.”

“At least I don’t hide from my own feelings.”

The room was enveloped in silence after his statement, the teens suddenly sucked into their own thoughts. Rin felt a strange sense of peace in the darkness, unable to make out the facial expressions of the surroundings teens though they were barely a couple feet away. He quickly found his mouth moving before he could stop himself.

“I….I didn’t hurt that kid in eighth grade….” Rin leaned back as far as he could in the corner, head resting on a stiff pillow as he trained his eyes on the ceiling. “I just got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“What’re you talking about, Rin?” The raven was thankful for Konekomaru’s soft-spoken question, rolling onto his side and facing the wall with clouded eyes lost in memories.

“I was taking the usual path home after school, Yukio had to stay behind for some club, I think. Anyway, I always take this alley behind these two shops because it’s faster than walking the whole block and there were these kids there.” Rin paused as he remembered turning the corner that day, catching sight of the arguing upperclassmen with curious eyes. “I don’t even know what they were arguing about, but one of them got mad and threw a punch.”

“I just, kinda, watched from the end of the alley until the first guy got in a good hit and the other fell into the wall. His head hit it pretty hard and he was knocked out….” Rin could vaguely remember blood splattering the walls from the hit, the boy on the ground having some gash on his left temple that let out a steady stream that followed the contours of his jaw. “That’s when the first guy noticed me.”

“I recognized him at that point, he was pretty popular and had a well-known father in the school system so it wasn’t that hard. You guys remember Amaimon?” Rin took the ongoing silence as an affirmative, continuing in a more subdued voice. “Asshole had connections in both school and the community. Everyone believed the little ‘demon child’ had the gall to attack someone older than him after school for something petty and that the sweet, older classman could do nothing but run and get help for his friend.”

Rin curled tighter into himself, voice barely above a whisper as he spoke again, “The guy that got knocked out suffered some head trauma from the hit with the wall and couldn’t relay his side of the story so I got sacked with the blame.”

Rin felt the silence like a deadweight, wishing for someone to say  _ something _ since he’d just practically poured his heart out. The raven breathed a little lighter as he felt the bed dip in three different places (he still couldn’t understand how they all fit on Bon’s bed), slowly rolling over until he caught sight of three misshapen shadows.

“You’re telling me….that that  _ fucker _ had the  _ gall _ to blame you for that shit? Do you know how utterly  _ pissed _ I am right now?!” Rin blinked at Renzo’s growled words, not used to the pinket feeling anything other than bubbly. He didn’t exactly have words to describe the feeling that swelled in his chest from Renzo’s anger, but it did cause his eyes to sting uncomfortably.

“That’s what everyone was talking about? How does the story even make sense?! And all those people that claimed they were your  _ friends _ ! UGH!”

“If you’re the ‘demon child’ then I’m satan himself. I won’t stand for this shit.”

Rin had to refrain from pointing out that they were all sitting- more or less- at the moment, not thinking it was right for that time. The raven had expected sympathy for his situation, and was completely baffled by the anger he felt rolling off the three in waves. Even Konekomaru!

“It’s in the past guys, calm down.” Rin wondered how his own voice could be so calm after relaying the story that started his horrible reputation. His mind drifted to that psychology book that Yukio had practically drilled into his brain after the incident, about how talking things out could make the situation slightly better.

Apparently he was right- somewhat. There was still anger at  Amaimon, hurt at his ‘friends’ reactions, and fear for his future, but it seemed more manageable now. Less bleak.

“I won’t  _ calm down _ ! I fucking  _ pissed _ ! I’m gonna castrate that bastard!” 

Okay they were heading towards the extremes now….

“Guys, it’s fine, it’s in the past, and I’ve got people that I can actually call friends now.” Rin smiled lightly though he knew they couldn’t see it, thankful to feel the bed dip a little more as they relaxed.

“I still wanna hurt him….”

“Still fucked up….”

“Not nice at all….”

Rin sighed as he leaned back against the wall, yawning as a sudden wave of exhaustion overcame him. A quick glance at the alarm clock on Bon’s bedside table showed it was nearing three am. 

“Damn it’s late~” Rin nearly chuckled at Renzo’s yawn, the stretch of his jaw causing it to crack loudly. 

“I guess we might as well sleep now. Bon and Rin do have a busy day tomorrow, after all.”

Rin nearly slammed a hand into his forehead as he was reminded of the godforsaken picture he was taking tomorrow. If he wasn’t so sure he would never get another chance to get one he’d have told the brunet to forget about it. 

But then again, Bon did have some pretty exotic features. His hair would blend well with multiple tones, while his skin would look great in both artificial and natural light. 

Then his  _ body _ , toned and without a hint of fat, could rival that of the gods themselves. Rin closed his eyes as he thought back on the teasing glimpses of Bon’s chest he had seen in the nurse’s office the other day. If only, if only the sexy were gay.

“Who’s sleepin’ where?”

“I call futon!” Rin nearly jumped at the twin shouts, watching in amusement as Renzo and Konekomaru dove off the bed into a tangled heap on the floor. The two fought to separate and ended up rolling towards the closet, bodies still in a mingled mix of limbs as they wrenched it open and grappled for the folded futon. “It’s mine!”

“So you can either bunk with me or take the floor. I, personally, don’t like sleeping on hardwood floors and have nothing against sharing a bed with someone so….”

Rin blinked at the brunet with large eyes. It wasn’t everyday you saw a guy that was willing to share his bed with another guy, even more so when he barely knew the person he was sharing his bed with. But he did have a point, hardwood floors were, well,  _ hard _ .

“Sure you don’t mind sharing?” Rin scratched nervously at the nape of his neck, casting a furtive glance at Bon as he pressed further into the wall.

Bon shrugged before him, the teen shifting around on the bed until he had the sheets pushed farther down the bed. “I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure.”

Rin smiled as he shifted under the blankets, head cushioned on the pillow from earlier. He felt Bon shift under the blankets next to him, his eyes drooping.

“Konekomaru if you kick me, I’m gonna make sure you smell my feet all night.”

“Same to you, Ren~”

“Night, dumbasses.”

“Night guys….”

Rin sighed happily as he allowed his eyes to close completely, consciousness leaving him a few moments later.

 

* * *

 

“Blackmail is a beautiful thing.”

“Are you sure Rin won’t notice? This is his camera….”   


“We’ll be fine. Besides, these things look freakin’  _ awesome _ !”

“Shh! You’ll wake them up.”

Rin frowned as the voices broke through his  peaceful sleep, the raven pushing back into the wall with a sigh. He nearly purred at the warmth that seeped into his back, a smile pulling at his lips as he felt himself drift off again.

A flash quickly stopped that, his eyes blinking open at the camera a few inches from his eyes. “Morning sleepyhead~”

“Renzo?” Rin yawned a moment later, one hand raising to rub at his eyes with the heel of his palm before another blinding flash went off. The raven glared weakly at the pink head who held his camera with a mischievous grin. “Why are you taking pictures of me?”

“Not just you, Rin. How’d you even get to this side of the bed?” Renzo’s question caused Rin to blink, finally realizing that he was getting a clear view of the room. 

Where the hell was Bon?

A deep hum near his ear had the raven freezing, eyes widening as he chanced a glance over his shoulder. Bon’s face was a few inches from his own, the brunet still lost within his dreams. A flash from above had him glaring at Renzo with more venom than before.

“Don’t blame me! You guys look cute.” Renzo paused as he glanced at Konekomaru, the smaller teen watching them with a smile. “We probably should’ve told him why no one sleeps with Bon.”

“Too late now.” Rin was about to question to two on just  _ why _ they didn’t when he felt Bon shift behind him, the brunet’s arms tightening around his waist (and when the hell did they even get there!?).

“What time ‘s it?” Rin chose to remain silent and motionless as the brunet pressed further into his pillow, breath fanning over the nape of Rin’s neck.

“Almost twelve. Might wanna get up if you wanna get those pictures taken before the sun goes down~”

Rin nearly cursed Renzo at that moment, instead stiffening further as Bon sat up behind him, arms pulling from his sides slowly. It took a moment for the teen to realize his and Rin’s predicament, his eyes widening a moment later as he pulled away slightly.

“Ah, sorry dude! You good?” Rin managed a stiff nod before slipping from the bed and standing awkwardly by the chuckling teens who still had a grip on his camera equipment.

Rin angrily snatched his stuff from their hands, holding it protectively to his chest as he moved towards his bag which had been carelessly tossed into a corner of the room. 

“So where  _ are _ you planning on taking these pictures, Rin? And do you need to do some landscaping down there, Bon? Or does Rin want this to be au naturale?”

Rin busied himself with checking his equipment for any issues, knowing there were none after the third onceover and still refusing to face the no doubt grinning teens. 

“Shut up, Renzo….” Rin zipped his camera into it’s protective casing after scrolling through the few shots Renzo had snapped a few moments prior, coughing to help dispel the blush that dusted his cheeks at the decidedly ‘cute’ photos.

Screw the pinket for being right….

“Boys! Breakfast!” Rin smiled as the three teens raced from the room, Bon tripping over his sheets as he chased Renzo and Konekomaru out the door. He heard their excited shouts as they made it into the kitchen, quickly followed by Bon’s father’s raucous laughter and the clang of kitchen utensils. Shaking his head, Rin stood to follow everyone down, smile on his lips as he took in the sight of the four situated around a circular table with a veritable feast laid out in the middle of the table.

He was almost surprised they hadn’t already devoured the whole thing, but found out the reason why when he took the final seat in between Konekomaru and Bon. 

“Now that everyone’s here, we can bless the food! I believe it’s Renzo’s turn this week?” Rin chanced a glance at his pink haired friend who had a soft smile on his lips, clapping his hands before his chest as he tilted his head down, eyes closed.

Rin was quick to copy his posture, a little shaky on the whole situation since he hadn’t blessed his food since his foster father had died. “Amen!” The raven blinked as he heard the conversation rise again as everyone reached for the many dishes laid out on the table, his eyes roving over the smiling faces and steaming food in contemplation.

So much like his home used to be….

“Rin? You gonna eat or what?” The raven blinked at Konekomaru in confusion before realising everyone was watching him silently. A blush rose on his cheeks as he nodded, reaching for the stack of pancakes with his fork as everyone jumped back into their own food.

Breakfast, lunch really, continued until there were only crumbs left on the plates, Rin wondering how Bon could stay in shape when he ate as much as he did. “I’m stuffed….”

“You did eat two-thirds of the pancakes, Renzo….”

“Only because Bon ate, like,  _ all _ the waffles!”

“Should’ve gotten some instead of eating the bacon.”

“But Rin would’ve eaten all of it!”

Rin could only blush as he chuckled, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied sigh. That bacon was pretty-freaking-awesome.

“You boys got anything planned for today?” Rin glanced at the older man working diligently on the dishes at the sink, hands lost within sudsy water as he sent them a questioning smile. Renzo was the first to answer.

“Yeah! Rin’s gotta take some pics for school and I think that’s about it really….” Renzo prodded his bottom lip with his finger, frowning as he pinned Rin with questioning eyes. “You still never said where you were taking them.”

Rin bit his lip as he rolled his eyes, humming as he thought on where best to take the pictures. He chanced a glance at Bon, frowning in thought as he compared different shades of light with his tanned skin. 

If he could catch the sun in the  _ right _ position, he could just imagine the shadows that would stretch along his neck and chest. Artificial light just didn’t cut it like it used to…

“There’s a spot in the woods that would work well….we can go in about an hour?”

At Bon’s nod, Rin couldn’t stop himself from grinning.

While this was a professional situation, he wasn’t going to stop himself from getting a better view of that perfect body.

 

* * *

 

Rin’s eyes roved over the clearing he glimpsed on the ride to Bon’s home yesterday, unable to stop himself from grinning at the peaceful landscape. Trees were set in such a way that looming shadows covered a good portion of the grass, though the gaps in the branches allowed brief glimpses of sunlight to break the daunting shadows. The wind rustled the ankle length grass and caused a few leaves to separate from their branches and skim the ground. 

And in the middle of it all sat a small pool of water with rocks lining the edges and a couple flowers stretching from its clear depths.

“Where was this when I needed it….” After getting blamed for the situation in eighth grade, Rin had quickly found peace in the silence of nature, the non judging eyes of the trees and sky and wildlife that frequented the park. This place would’ve been a  _ godsend _ back then.

“You can come back as much as you want, you know. People don’t normally come here so you won’t be bothered.” Rin whipped his head towards the brunet, feeling a blush rise as his eyes drifted towards Bon’s exposed collarbones.

“Thanks….”

“When is Bon taking off the robe?” Renzo’s teasing shout was met with a certain finger from Bon, the teen shaking his head as he faced Rin again.

The raven swallowed thickly as he motioned for Bon to follow, the two approaching the pool of water in silence. “Um, just stand by the edge right now.” Rin could feel heat burn at his cheeks, wishing he could stop blushing at the prospect of taking pictures of the athletic teen, but unable to stop imagining Bon without the bathrobe he wore.

“Okay.”

Rin’s eyes roved over the rocks the two stood on, humming to himself as he glanced at Bon in time to see him undo the belt. His face immediately colored with a deep blush, hands reaching out to hold the robe closed as he mentally congratulated himself on wearing the neck-strap to his camera.

“N-not yet! I’m just trying to get the angles right!” Rin could hear Renzo’s scandalous comments under the rush of blood through his ears.

Bon actually looked embarrassed at his actions, rubbing at the back of his neck before re-tying the belt. “My bad….”

“I-It’s fine. Just, kinda, wait here….” Rin quickly scurried away from the teen, standing a few feet back and leaning this way and that to check angles along Bon’s features.

He hummed as he moved a couple feet to the left, smiling as the light cast shadows against his bangs and the contours of his jaw. Crouching low, Rin could just imagine the pictures he could catch with Bon standing in the right pose. The raven ended up lying on his back while looking up at the brunet with critical eyes, unable to care about the chuckles he could hear from Konekomaru and Renzo as he rolled from side to side.

“You can take it off now….” 

Rin pushed away any and all indecent thoughts as Bon carefully removed his robe, god-like body glowing in the afternoon sun. Swallowing the sudden lump in his throat, Rin pushed himself onto his knees.

“Turn towards the pond a bit. Stop! Okay, um, get on your knees-”

“I thought this was a photoshoot, not a porno!” Rin blushed as he smacked a hand onto his forehead, shaking off Renzo’s words with a huff as he went back to instructing the brunet.

“Cross your hands in front of you and tilt your head up. Okay, no, down. Yeah, raise your chin just a bit….Perfect! Now, hold on a sec.”

Rin scrambled from his position in the grass, thankful that he packed a pair of forever-stained jeans as he approached the brunet. Bon looked at him in confusion as he crouched before him. Rin could just ignore the teen’s chest as his hands dove into his hair, ruffling the multicolored locks until they lie flat on his head. Bon was frowning at the loss of his meticulously styled hair but remained silent as Rin then moved onto his face.

Gentle fingers ran along his forehead, smoothing the frown away before brushing over his eyebrows. They moved to the corner of his eyes where they rubbed soothingly until they eased to half-mast. Continuing their downward path, the fingers then worked at Bon’s lips, pulling them into a small smile before easing it into a frown. Bon found himself confused at the urge to follow those fingers as they left his skin.

“Stay just like that, alright?” RIn’s voice was soft as he moved away from the brunet, camera in his hands in seconds as he moved to stand above him.

Rin clicked numerous pictures as he moved around the prone figure, even lying on the grass and getting one with Bon’s eyes trained on the sky as an especially large cloud passed overhead.

“Okay, next pose!”

Rin grinned as he made Bon lie on his back, one leg extended and the other bent in the air. One of his hands was resting on the grass above his head while the other just barely touched the water in the pond. Rin nodded as he stepped to the other side of the small pond, lying on the grass on his stomach as he adjusted the zoom on his camera. 

“Think you can try and look contemplative? Or just thoughtful, really? Any emotion in that area works, honestly.” Rin shrugged at Bon’s confused expression until it morphed into one that looked less confused and more pensive. The raven smiled as he snapped picture after picture, moving to stand and get a few with Bon’s face reflected shakily in the pond before letting his camera fall to his chest.

“I think that’ll be enough!” Rin smiled as Bon sat up and reached for his robe, his eyes quickly sliding along the exposed skin as he allowed his professional attitude to slide away.

_ God _ , but that body was just illegal!

“Thanks again! I’m sure this wasn’t something you’re entirely cool with….” Rin rubbed at the back of his neck as Bon pulled the robe over his shoulders and tied the belt.

“It’s fine, honestly. Anything to help. Can I see?”

“We’d like to see just how awesome Mr.Meathead looks, too!” Rin rolled his eyes as Bon dove at Renzo, the pink haired teen laughing as he ended up on the grass with Bon’s knuckles embedded in his scalp. He quickly went to the photo album of the camera, scrolling towards the beginning of the shoot and enlarging the first shot.

“Wow, Rin! That looks really good!” The raven scratched at the back of his head nervously as he smiled sheepishly, a sudden weight on his back nearly making him drop his camera.

“How the hell can you do a freaking nude shoot and make it not look porn-y? You made Bon look like one of those greek people in our textbook….” Rin could just make out Renzo’s pout from the corner of his eye, chuckling to himself as he clicked through the photoset with a widening grin.

He might actually have a hope of getting some type of scholarship!

“How long have you been into photography?” Rin hummed as he looked upon his impromptu model with a pleased smile, shrugging as he looked back at the final shots in reverence.

“Around eighth grade. I was curious about it at first and took pictures with a cheap polaroid until I got an actual camera for my birthday.” Rin smiled in reminiscence, eyes closed as he let the camera drop to his chest, “It turned into a bit of an obsession after that.”

Rin looked upon the smiling faces of the surrounding group in a strange sense of serenity. It could’ve been the pictures that he would no doubt look at for hours on end when he got home, or maybe the quiet hum of the forest, but whatever the reason, Rin found himself wanting to stay in the presence of these teens. Maybe he could join them for more sleepovers, no matter how strange they may get.

“Let’s hurry up and get back, we haven’t ruined our brains with video games yet!” Renzo threw an arm over the closest teens and began dragging them through their earlier path from the house, a silent Bon trailing the trio with a small smile.

 

* * *

 

 

The weekend ended just as Renzo wanted, with their brains reduced to mush from hours upon hours of staring at at Bon’s large TV with unblinking eyes and mashing buttons on controllers until their thumbs were bruised. Rin wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. 

Leaving Bon’s home on Sunday made Rin realize the isolated land beyond the gravel pathways and thickets of trees wasn’t his home. He never wanted to leave, lingered in the threshold of the entrance to the house longer than he’d like to admit. Only Bon’s father offering for him to join the boys for another weekend made him step away and towards Renzo’s car. His eyes never left the front porch as Renzo backed out the driveway, Bon and his father leaning against the house as they waved after the retreating car. Only when the house disappeared around the curve at the end of the driveway did Rin pull his camera from his bag and scroll through the photos he had taken while at Bon’s home.

“Don’t look so down, Rin. We’ll be back in two weeks.” Renzo reasoned as he shot Rin a reassuring smile. The raven returned the smile, though his head eyes quickly dropped back to the camera, focusing on a random picture of the scenery in the clearing adjacent to Bon’s house.

“Yeah.” Rin replied distractedly as his thumb continued to tap at the button that cycled through his pictures. He paused when he came to the ones taken by Renzo and Konekomaru Saturday morning. 

He hated to admit how good the quality of the picture was, how he wanted to immerse himself in the soft morning glow and never leave the serenity it provided. A chuckle at his side snapped him from his thoughts and he saw Renzo glancing at him from the corner of his eyes. 

“I knew you wouldn’t erase that.” Renzo chirped with a triumphant quirk of his lips that had Rin scowling. 

“Shut up.” Rin muttered as he shut off his camera and tucked it away. “It’s a good picture...It would be stupid to erase it.”

“Mhm. And the fact that Bon has his arm around you isn’t contributing to that in any way?” Renzo questioned disbelievingly. Rin turned away from his friend, aware that the pinket would be able to pick apart his features with a single look. 

“No…” A chuckle at his side had Rin turning to Renzo with a scowl.

“Keep telling yourself that, Rin. Maybe it’ll be true one day.”

 

* * *

 

 

The following week was spent stringing his portfolio into a coherent order, complete with tabs to help organize the sections and a nicely, bound cover courtesy of Yukio. Rin had been ecstatic with the gift, however small it seemed to his twin, and happily clipped each of his photos into the provided slots. He had also taken to carrying around three separate thumb drives with his portfolio saved on each under password protection. 

Call him paranoid, but he wasn’t risking his scholastic future by being lazy. 

It was this same paranoia that found him spending a good portion of his free time locked in the photography classroom during his breaks, repeatedly clicking through the portfolios on his thumb drives and adjusting each picture as he saw fit. He even had Shiemi help occasionally, along with Ms.Shura when he could actually find her, though both women had assured him that his portfolio was as perfect as it could get. But no amount of reassurances could stop him from worrying for his future, no matter how sincere.

Which is how he found himself pulled aside during a free period in his schedule by an enthusiastic Renzo.  The pink haired teen had worked endlessly over the following week to worm his way back into Rin’s life and was surprisingly successful. Sure, Rin’s attitude was comparable to a dying hydrangea most of the time, but Renzo prided himself on bringing out the best in people. Though, in terms of Rin, his ‘best’ were a few hummed affirmatives as Renzo ranted about his latest conquest- or lack thereof. 

But that aside, Rin couldn’t help but smile as Renzo dragged him to an empty expanse of grass in the school’s courtyard and pushed him into the grass under a tree. Rin glared up at the pinket as he rubbed at his abused behind.

“Jerk! You couldn’t have just let me sit down?” Rin’s response was a ball being dropped in his lap. Further study showed it was a football, one that had a familiar name scrawled in sharpie along the worn leather. “What…?”

“Cover for me will you?” The question was shouted over Renzo’s shoulder as he disappeared across the courtyard and into the school. Rin stared after him in confusion and shock, unsure of whether to stay where he was or chase after the teen before he locked himself in a classroom. 

The choice was soon made for him as another pair of double doors burst open and Konekomaru came rushing through. He disappeared into the same doors as Renzo and not a moment too soon as Bon came rushing through only a second after the doors slammed shut. He panted in the middle of the courtyard, his eyes darting around before landing on Rin. He seemed to lose whatever resolve he had as his shoulders dropped and he approached the raven in a decidedly calmer manner than he had entered the courtyard. 

Rin’s fingers unconsciously tightened around the football as he considered the larger teen and his impending approach. From what he had witnessed in the last  _ minute _ , he could only assume he had been roped into whatever prank or another Renzo had cooked up. Poor Konekomaru had been enlisted as well it seemed….was nothing sacred to the pinket or was he really just that bored?

“Have you seen Renzo?” The question pulled Rin from his thoughts and he blinked up at Bon in perplexity. He hadn’t spoken to the other much, aside from the occasional question asked during class or a text sent about homework that was due, and it still felt odd to interact with him outside of class, especially with the Raven’s newly adopted hobby.

Said ‘hobby’ consisted of Rin spending more time than was physically healthy staring at the pictures Bon had been dared to pose for. They were gorgeous, of that Rin could not deny, but it was the lack of dress that had cause the raven so much grief. He felt guilty for using the photos in such a way, especially when he had been trusted so explicitly to only use them for his future college prospects. But….something about Bon’s eyes in the pictures, highlighted in the mid-morning sun with his multicolored hair spilled in gentle waves along his forehead, drew Rin in and refused to let him go. He was bewitched and the effect was impossible to throw off. 

Though now, with Bon standing over him as he were, Rin was suddenly reminded of those pictures and the reactions they drew from his body. It wasn’t anything as intense as teenage hormones forcing him into an uncomfortable state of arousal- though he wouldn’t push it past his subconscious to delve into those forbidden zones should he stay within the rabbit hole that was his camera’s memory- but there was a definite flutter in his stomach that almost drove him to his feet in his need to let off the sudden increase in tension. 

He shook off the feelings and thoughts as he realized Bon was still waiting for a response, though the way his eyes drifted towards the ball in his lap and widened was proof enough that it wasn’t necessary. 

“He, um, pushed me here a minute ago and took off that way.” Rin pointed towards a door on the opposite end of the courtyard, but Bon didn’t seem inclined to look. Under the scrutiny of Bon’s gaze, Rin began to shift on the ground as his fingernails scraped at the material of the football. He finally blinked down at the ball in his lap before blushing as he offered it up to the brunette. “Here. Renzo dumped it on me, but it has your name on it so I figured he stole it or something.”

“Or something.” Bon muttered, low enough for Rin to miss his words. The brunette took the proffered football and tucked it in the bend of his elbow. “Thanks. I’ve been chasing them down all day.”

Rin offered the teen a smile as he rocked in place, “No problem. And you’re lucky. Renzo’s not usually known for giving up his games so quickly.”

“Oh, I’m well aware.” Bon chuckled as he made a quick decision and settled in the grass at Rin’s side. He left enough space between them so an idle breeze could brush their skin, but the heat that traversed the minimal distance was still palpable. “I’m just surprised he got Konekomaru to agree to help him. He’s usually the more levelheaded of the two.”

Rin nodded in understanding, though his mind seemed glued to the proximity of the teen at his side. A shiver ran through his body as the realization mixed with a sudden gust of wind made goosebumps rise on his arms. It was that moment that made Rin question when he became the protagonist in a romance novel. 

“Hey?” The voice snapped Rin from his thoughts and he hummed in question as he turned towards the teen at his side. Bon was now stretched along the grass, the lower half of his legs bathed in sunlight while the upper portion of his body was still covered by the thick foliage of the branches overhead. Rin found it curious that the brunette’s head was turned away from him, but pushed the thought aside as Bon continued. “You’re done working on your portfolio and yearbook stuff, right?”

Rin managed a grin as he rested his head on his knees. “Yup.” He popped the ‘p’ of the word before curiosity made his grin drop into a thoughtful frown. “Why you wanna know?”

Rin watched Bon shift around on the grass before turning to face him with a surprisingly hesitant look on his face. The raven was instantly intrigued as he shifted a bit closer to the other teen. 

“Nothing much, just….since you’re done with that stuff and I know you’ve got some free time, I wanted to know if you, maybe, wanted to hang out sometime? After school or…” Bon’s words slowly drifted off as he took in the amused smile on Rin’s lips. Sensing the change in Bon’s thoughts, and noting the coloring that was rapidly coloring his cheeks (whether from anger or embarrassment, he didn’t really care to decipher), Rin decided to take over before the teen combusted on the spot.

“I’d like that.” Was the soft spoken response as the bell finally rang signalling the end of Rin’s free period. He and Bon didn’t seem averse to moving as students began to flood the courtyard as they rushed for their next classes or settled down for their own free period. Only when the last few bodies began to disperse did the two move, though they stuck close under the shade of the tree. Rin was the first to speak as he finally gathered his long held courage and offered Bon a stilted smile. “I’m free after classes today if you wanna come to my place? I can make us food and we can do homework together, or watch movies or something. Maybe play games…” 

Rin cut himself off as he realized he was rambling, a blush staining his cheeks as he averted his eyes and released a slight cough. A chuckle from Bon had him glancing back at the taller teen and the smile sent his way was enough for Rin to swallow whatever unease he had and relax.

“It sounds great. I’ll meet you after class?” Bon suggested with a quirk of his brow and Rin nodded enthusiastically. The ring of the late bell did nothing to disturb the two as they continued to smile goofily at each other. It was only when Rin’s phone vibrated in his pocket that he kicked himself into motion. 

“I forgot our teacher came back from maternity leave.” Rin mumbled as he checked the message from Renzo and sent a quick reply that he was on the way. Offering Bon an apologetic smile the raven turned in preparation to head for class. “I gotta go, but I’ll meet you at the front of the school after class.”

“It’s a date.” Rin froze from where he had been turning to leave, eyes trained on Bon’s retreating back. The brunette disappeared across the courtyard and into the school in record time and Rin followed his example not a moment later. It was only when he got to his next class and had a smirking Renzo kick him across the aisle that he realized he was smiling goofily. 

But, regardless of how stupid he looked smiling like a loon through a new section of Physics, he couldn’t bring himself to care. Because after so long of being put down, things were finally starting to look up, and this wasn’t a moment that could be captured on film so he would do his best to live in the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked this little thing! Lemme know if you can pick up when I paused in writing this and when I came back to finish it~ :'D


End file.
